


Off Duty

by sapphirelance



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hoshido | Birthright Route, Hurt/Comfort, some spoilers?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 18:56:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14575467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphirelance/pseuds/sapphirelance
Summary: Kaze finds himself unexpectedly off-duty from his usual tasks within the Astral Plane. Unknowingly to him, however, Corrin had taken it upon herself to make sure he took a break. Alternate A-S support.





	Off Duty

**Author's Note:**

> A pretty fluffy Kaze x F!Corrin piece, fleshing out an alternative A-S support conversation. One mild drug reference (not even sure if it's worth mentioning tbh). I'm tired of editing it, so hopefully there's not too many holes. Unsure of what to rate it so I'm putting T. 
> 
> I do not own these characters.

Even though darkness still shrouded the sky, Kaze knew it was time to get up. 

 

The chill from the open window settled into the barracks, cooling it thoroughly once again as it had for most of the night. Though Kaze was a natural early riser, this morning was particularly difficult to leave his cot. His guard duty rotation would start before dawn. It would be rude to keep the current shift waiting.

 

Swinging his legs over the side of the cot, his bare feet met with the chill of the wood floor beneath him. He rose to his feet, trying to stifle a yawn that refused to be silenced. Changing into fresh clothes and taking his desired weaponry, he proceeded down from the barracks out into the nippy morning air. The sky was clear, meaning cooler temperatures, but a beautiful view for the sunrise in a short while. Especially for being positioned at the east gate. 

 

The fresh dew that covered the grass of the plane reflected the dim light of the lanterns scattered across the grounds. Within a few minutes, Kaze’s eyes adjusted to the early morning light. The birds had begun to chirp and squeak from their nests, filling the slowly-waking base with gentle song. Within a little while, most everyone would be awake and starting the day’s work.

 

Vigilant as ever, Kaze noted if something was out of place. There was light in the mess hall, indicating whoever was on duty was already there, preparing breakfast for the troops as usual. Oboro was returning from her shift, passing over a report to Reina as she took over the west gate. Reina giving a simple wave in his direction. He returned it briefly, hearing his own footsteps pause beneath him. The crunch of the gravel and stone under his feet quieted as he noted Setsuna trudging down the path towards the lottery shop, keys in her hand. The familiar jingle echoed in his ears. Should it stop too soon, he would have reason to inspect further. In fact, he was already preparing himself to double check anyway.

 

_But at least she can’t hurt herself there…Could she?_ he thought. There had been no pitfalls, nothing to befall her on her path. And yet everyone knew that didn’t matter. The aloof retainer to Lady Hinoka always managed to somehow remain injury prone—or at least getting-stuck-in-a-trap-somewhere prone.

 

But not this morning, amazingly. With his keen hearing, he could almost feel the key sliding into the door, followed by a _click!_  He watched as she lit a lantern inside, holding his breath for when the shop would soon be engulfed in flames.

 

A minute went by. No smoke. No fire. No other assorted problems. Kaze blinked, taking in his surroundings once more. _Something_  felt out of place, yet nothing around him indicated anything was out of order. His liege had built a smooth-running outfit, that was for sure. 

 

This day was already starting on a peculiar foot, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Another yawn crept into his mouth, his hand immediately went to cover it. Kaze kept up his pace towards the east gate, already formulating what he would do when his shift was over in six hours. He had agreed to train with Lady Corrin right afterwards for a while, before her duties demanded her elsewhere. The mere thought of her warmed his core, and a split second later it left a knife in his chest. It didn’t matter if they were sparring or performing inventory or anything really—spending time was enough.

 

And yet he wanted _more_.

 

The knife twisted, leaving him just as torn as he had been all night last night, all day yesterday, and all of this week.

 

And since he had really met her, quite honestly.

 

“Early as always.” Saizo’s curt voice broke Kaze from his trance. “What’s up with the grin? I thought I told you to stay away from those damn herbs—especially at this ungodly hour.” 

 

Kaze frowned, rolling his eyes. A model retainer was _never_  under the influence, though the thought of his liege was rather intoxicating. “What are you doing here?” Kaze asked instead, dismissing his twin’s crude attempt at humor and folding his arms across his chest. 

 

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Saizo gestured to the gate. “Guard duty. What’s with you?” 

 

“I have guard duty this morning,” Kaze replied, his frown turned to a puzzled expression. Saizo shrugged at his twin. “‘Parently not. Lady Corrin’s orders—I’m here until noon.” 

 

“Perhaps I have my schedule confused,” Kaze thought aloud. Saizo shrugged. “It’s been a hell of a week. If you’re not going to make yourself useful, go back to bed. You look terrible.” 

 

Kaze once again ignored his brother’s comment, angling his head towards the tree house, where Lady Corrin’s quarters rested. He was quite sure at this hour she’d still be sleeping soundly. The windows were still dark, a light wisp of smoke curled from the chimney into the air.

 

“You can ask her all you want,” Saizo said, turning his attention back to the gate. “I saw her head for the mess hall not minutes ago.” 

 

That was enough for Kaze. He took his leave immediately, making his way towards the mess hall. He pondered on his way. There was little chance he misremembered the schedule. The thought of missing something so basic gnawed at him relentlessly. If Corrin really was awake, he intended to ask her where else she would like him assigned, provided he didn’t misinterpret anything else. 

 

It had been a tiring week to be sure, but it had been for everyone, not just him. The feeling of the earth quaking beneath his feet interrupted his thoughts. Somewhere, he heard Corrin scream his name.

 

And then he was back on the gravel path again. Kaze shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

 

Gripping the door to the mess hall, Kaze pulled it open to see the dimly lit dining room. The eerie glow of dancing flames from the hearth cast shadows all around. Takumi stood behind the counter with his back turned towards the door. He was busy chopping something against the cutting board, not paying much attention to noises around him. He turned around after a moment, Kaze noticed how tired he looked too. 

 

“Oh, it’s just you,” he said flatly. “I haven’t made anything yet, so you’ll have to wait—”

 

“No, milord, it’s not that,” Kaze said, not even realizing he interrupted his liege. “I was trying to locate Lady Corrin. Saizo said she was here.” 

 

“Yeah,” Takumi yawned. “She was. She took off though, towards the lotto shop.” 

 

How had Kaze not seen her? He had done his best to scan his surroundings as he did so frequently, it was homologous with breathing. Corrin was quiet to be sure, but she was certainly no ninja when it came to stealth. Was she avoiding him? 

 

With a grunt, Takumi hoisted a bag of unpeeled potatoes onto the counter. The drawstring came loose on the top, letting several fall to the floor in a succession of _thuds!_  Kaze was ready to hop over the counter and help, when Takumi held out his hand wordlessly, making Kaze freeze in his tracks. 

 

“Sister’s orders, you’re off duty,” he said flatly, scooping up the potatoes on the ground in one arm, setting them in the deep sink to be washed. 

 

Kaze shook his head, perplexity and exhaustion beginning to take over, knocking him out of the driver’s seat of his own cognitive process. Had something happened? Was something amiss? Had he somehow wronged her? Why else would Lady Corrin relieve him of his duties so flippantly? 

 

Refusing to give up just yet, Kaze remembered that there was still plenty of other places for chores, rotations, and duties within the Astral Plane. After all, the day was just getting started. Perhaps he was scheduled somewhere else? Or maybe even at a later time. All the more reason to find Corrin and ask. 

 

Heading back over to the lottery shop, Kaze entered to see a sleeping Setsuna, resting her upper half on the counter, the other sitting on a stool. And Corrin still nowhere in sight.

 

Kaze rolled his eyes, folding his arms once more and clearing his throat loudly, standing just feet from her. “Ahem!” 

 

Setsuna inhaled deeply, stretching her arms up into the air. Letting out a yawn, she lowered them slowly, looking at the ninja with a half-lidded gaze. “Oh…Kaze. Did you win something? Just take what you want. I respect the honor system.” 

 

“Pardon me, Setsuna, but Lord Takumi thought Lady Corrin was here,” he explained, ignoring her question. “I’m trying to track her down. Have you seen her?” 

 

“Yeah, she was here a little bit ago,” she replied slowly, tiredness still heavy in her tone. She picked up a piece of paper next to her that had been lying face down on the counter and pushed it towards him. Folding her arms once more, she laid her head down and mumbled into them, “She came by to drop this off.” 

 

It took everything in him to simply not snatch up the document and rip through it for answers. He gingerly took it from the counter top, inspecting it as thoroughly as he could. The words flew right off the page at first. Blinking, Kaze stared at the paper so intensely he could have burned a hole straight through.

 

The schedule was broken down into a grid, with names at the top in columns and chores with times at the sides, boxes shaded in a scattered pattern throughout the grid, all written in her penmanship. Kaze found the today’s date and his name, tracing his finger down the column, noticing how none of the boxes were shaded in, indicating he was indeed…off duty.

 

How unsettling. 

 

He opened his mouth to ask further, but Setsuna was already asleep. Deciding to take the paper with him, he turned and left the shop, eyeing the base carefully. Corrin still hadn’t made an appearance. He counseled with the grid once more, finding her name column. Since she had written this last night, she had added Ryoma’s name at the end along with Scarlet. Their grids had been shaded in, an arrow drawn at the bottom corner of the page. “Meeting—Corrin, Scarlet, Hinoka, and Ryoma until 1000hrs.” 

 

With a sigh, Kaze pondered what to do next, knowing it would be inappropriate to interrupt the meeting of his lieges unless it was urgent. Likely, with the battle in Cheve over and both forces combined, Lord Ryoma would likely be commanding the army jointly with Corrin and new plans would be made. It’s no wonder she had to adjust a schedule or two last minute. Deciding to let the matter be until he could see her, Kaze headed to the training grounds. 

 

Despite knowing how important it was to have some free time in respect to duties, he wasn’t accustomed to much of it. Until he could speak with his liege, despite what her shorthand told him, he didn’t consider himself exactly free to do as he wished. Keeping his mind and body occupied for the next few hours would be what just the thing to help pass time. 

 

Once inside the arena, Kaze heard Jakob muttering almost instantly. Jakob was busy attending to the training dummies and weapons, holding a clipboard in front of him, noting things furiously with quick marks of a pen. Kaze didn’t intend to startle him, but when Jakob turned around, he nearly leaped into the air with a shout. He frowned pointedly at Kaze, scowling as he picked up his clipboard he had dropped with a thud! Kaze was more than used to his glares by now.

 

“Kaze! By the gods, you can’t simply just waltz in here like that! Give a man some warning.” 

 

“My apologies, Jakob,” Kaze replied flatly. If he had a gold piece every time he apologized for unintentionally sneaking up on someone, he would be a rich man indeed. Such apologies became automatic after a while. 

 

“What are you doing here? It’s not training hours yet,” Jakob commented. “And Lady Corrin’s orders are that you’re supposed to be—”

 

“Off duty,” Kaze said for him. “So I’ve noticed.” 

 

“What do you mean ‘so you’ve noticed’? Did she not tell you? I wouldn’t imagine Lady Corrin to be so forgetful.” 

 

Until she’s had her first cup of tea, anyway, Kaze thought. During the time spent as her retainer, he had observed first hand just how his lady’s attention span could waver, but he kept mum about that. 

 

“I wasn’t made aware of any changes to my rotation,” he replied simply. “So I am at a bit of a loss. I intended to speak with her about it, but she is meeting with Lord Ryoma and Lady Hinoka for a while. I don’t want to interrupt.” 

 

“So you’ve come here to wait, have you?” Jakob prodded, noting something even more furiously on the paper. “You do look quite disheveled. When was the last time you slept? Or bathed?” 

 

_Am I really that unkempt?_ “I did both last night, Jakob.”

 

“With soap? Or is that not something that Hoshidans believe in?” 

 

Ignoring his insult, Kaze attempted to step foot closer into the actual arena, but was blocked by Jakob, who promptly prohibited entry with his frame.

 

“Don’t you see that my lady has gone through all this trouble for you?” Jakob asked, irritation etched into his face.

 

Kaze mirrored Jakob’s frown, once again folding his arms, but saying nothing, awaiting an explanation. He knew Jakob would never admit to it, but since he accompanied Corrin into Hoshido and had to close ranks with Kaze, he was ever annoyed. Jakob had made it abundantly clear that he was Lady Corrin’s faithful servant. It had become worse after Kaze made his personal pledge to Corrin to be her retainer specifically. And Jakob’s fuse quietly burned with the attention Kaze received from Lady Corrin almost constantly. 

 

“Grudgingly, I have to admit that you have indeed proven yourself to Lady Corrin and her cause,” Jakob began. “Especially with the rockslide incident. You have worked yourself down to a frazzle, and my lady knows it. She is counting on you to be at your best.” 

 

There was a moment of silence before the door creaked open, filling the storage room with footsteps.

 

“I had Jakob go over the training materials this morning.” Corrin’s voice entered the arena. Albeit somewhat distant, both servants knew the voice of their master. As if on cue, both straightened their spines, Jakob returning to his work and left Kaze awkwardly standing there, unsure of what to do. He had no time to reflect on Jakob’s words. His thoughts and attentions went straight to the narrow doorway that would lead his liege into the supply room, waiting for her to enter. 

 

“And that new rotation will be up in the barracks for everyone here in a bit,” Corrin continued. Her voice was much clearer now. She stepped foot into the room, Ryoma closely behind her. “I’m so relieved now that our forces merged and everyone is safe. It’ll boost morale to be sure, as well as distribute the load a bit more.” 

 

“Agreed,” Ryoma nodded, inspecting his surroundings with obvious pride. “Good work, Corrin. I’ll see you at dinner to finalize those plans.” 

 

“Of course!” 

 

Ryoma nodded at Kaze and Jakob wordlessly, but not unkindly, turning to leave the arena. Corrin turned around, flashing her brilliant smile at her retainers. “Morning to both of you.”

 

“Good morning, milady,” both echoed in reply, one voice definitely more calm than the other. 

 

Corrin frowned slightly. “Kaze, I’m a little surprised to see you here. Everything all right?” 

 

“Just a little restless, milady. Nothing to worry about,” Kaze replied evenly, returning an—albeit tired—smile in kind. Jakob cleared his throat and excused himself, muttering as he went. Corrin watched him leave, then turned her attention back to Kaze, closing the distance between them. A lovely, knowing smile on her face.

 

“You’ve finished your meeting early,” he noted, his voice even. Corrin nodded, “Well, since we were both already awake and anxious to get the new plans underway, it didn’t seem to make much sense waiting.” 

 

Corrin smoothed out the edge of his robe with a gentle press of her hand against his chest. As she fixed and adjusted various pieces of his clothing, Kaze felt himself flush, looking over himself as well. Had he been so sloppy that she had to take time to straighten him up?

 

“Do me a favor, I know you’re antsy, but do try to relax,” she said, breaking him free of those thoughts, but replaced with the same feeling of butterflies in his stomach and the knife in his chest. “I’m worried about you.” 

 

Kaze was keenly aware it was just the two of them now, trying to quell the storm going on inside. He knew he should step back from her warmth—such proximity was inappropriate. 

 

And yet this was not the first time he had found himself in this exact predicament and still did nothing as he should have.

 

“I thought about leaving you a note concerning this, but I figured that might not be proper if it fell into the wrong hands. Forgive me.” 

 

“There’s nothing to forgive, milady.” 

 

“One other request, and I’ll let you be. After dinner tea—my quarters. Six o’clock. Please?” Corrin’s eyes shone with expectancy. Kaze couldn’t deny her, and not because she was his liege. It was especially difficult to even think about denying her when she looked at him that way. Her gorgeous crimson eyes locked with his. He found himself smiling as he had this morning at the very thought of her.

 

“Of course, milady.”

 

“Good,” she replied, reaching up as close to his ear as possible, rising onto her toes to accommodate the difference in height. Her lips ghosted over his skin near his ear in what could have been a kiss, but it wasn’t. Simply whispering as she pulled away. “Tonight then.” 

 

Kaze felt a shiver down his spine. This woman was his undoing. At that he was certain.

 

But what a way to go.

 

A flush covered his cheeks as it did Corrin’s, but her poker face tried to hide it as she left the storage room, leaving Kaze alone with his thoughts. Doing his best to shake her off his mind, he reached for the shuriken he had tucked away, entering the arena itself, the hollow of it full of training dummies. Renewed with the warmth of Corrin’s presence ghosting his thoughts, he still felt the feeling of the ground quake beneath him again, and the pain that left him completely torn. He readied his aim despite the shake and sweat in his hands. With one strike, he sent the crude oak figure before him into oblivion. 

 

~~

 

Six o’clock precisely, Kaze stood outside Corrin’s door to her private quarters. 

 

The day had dragged on for him. He had eaten, bathed, worked on some medicine for the healers, and altogether still finding himself unable to relax. The smell the chamomile tea brewing and the light incense from inside her quarters brought him back to reality. He took in a deep, quiet breath, letting the small comforts quiet his anxiousness. With the exhale, he rapped gently on Corrin’s door. 

 

The knob twisted and the door swung open, Corrin standing on the other side of the threshold. She had abandoned her armor and weapon for her nightgown and robe, leaving her certainly very casual, but not immodest by most standards. She ushered Kaze inside with a tender smile, shutting the door behind him. 

 

Corrin went to the low table near the hearth, sitting on a cushion as she poured a second cup of tea for Kaze, leaving the sugar up to him. He followed suit, sitting across from her on the opposite cushion, taking the steaming cup in his hands. Both shared a sip in a pleasurable silence. Kaze enjoyed the mild warmth slide down his throat before he spoke.

 

“…I hope, uhm,” he paused, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say. “Forgive me my lady, I hope that I haven’t offended you today.” 

 

“Hey.” Her soft prodding made him meet her gaze. She raised a pointed look over her mug, the ceramic cup almost blocking the smirk on her face. Those crimson eyes that flashed at him already robbed him of his resolve. “Remember our promise? Behind these walls…?” 

 

“Forgive me, Corrin,” he amended, turning back to his tea, tracing the rim absentmindedly with his index finger. She smiled, folding her legs to the side, deciding on another little spoonful of sugar to her cup.

 

“How was your day today?” she asked, cradling her tea in her palms. “Did you rest like I asked you to?” 

 

Kaze paused, unable to meet her gaze. Her concern so gentle and touching, he hardly felt worthy of it. He found himself silent, still working through the whirlwind of his thoughts as he sat before her.

 

“Kaze, I know how you can be when it comes to your duty,” she continued. Choosing her words carefully, she spoke with truth in earnest, but not unkindly. “And I’m beyond indebted to you and everything you’ve done. This week has been incredibly hard on everyone, but you especially. I’ve been worried for you. Considering how devoted you are, you sometimes let your own self care lapse.” 

 

“Corrin—”

 

“Kaze, you’ve worked yourself to death.” He knew those words were the truth. With the feelings he harbored for her, work was the only way to keep him away from what he knew he _shouldn’t_  do, even if he _wanted_  to, and what his mind thought about them _doing_ —and what they _had done already_. Even though it was harmless flirting, it had still crossed a boundary he knew he should not have.

 

However, he could never bring himself to exhume this to her. How he was so torn in two. How it was he thought of her and felt joy and pain together in equal measure. It didn’t even seem to matter that he nearly _died_  for her just days ago. That was his duty. It didn’t give him any more permission to think the way he so desired to. The words he so desired to speak banged against his lips as if they were prison bars, unable to escape.

 

“I know this is war, but the pace you’ve set for yourself is a pace no one can handle.” That voice brought him back again from the brink as it had done hundreds of times before. “Now that Ryoma’s forces are here, the work load is going to be distributed more, so it’ll be easier for everyone. But that’s only if you don’t kill yourself first.” 

 

Kaze heard a soft sniffle from the other side of the table. His head snapped in an instant in her direction to see tears running down Corrin’s cheeks. She stood from her cushion, abandoning her tea at the table. She walked over to her ample bed to collapse onto it, sitting on the edge, hunched over herself. “If my incompetence doesn’t kill you first…” she whispered, breaking into a series of quiet sobs, weeping into her palms. “You nearly died because of me. This is all my fault. Please forgive me.” 

 

_Oh gods_  what was he _thinking?!_ More importantly, what was _she_  thinking that this was somehow her fault? 

 

Instantly rising to his feet, Kaze was at once at her side, sitting beside her. Gently enveloping her in one arm, he pulled her upright and close to his chest. The other hand faintly touching her cheek, wiping tears away with his fingers. He rested his head against the crown of hers, looking down at her face. He wanted to comfort her, but somewhere he knew she still had more to say, and he didn’t know where to begin. 

 

“First that day with the rockslide…and then you just-just disappear,” Corrin wept, careful to not raise her voice too loudly and disturb the other retainers still on guard. “And when I do see you…you look like you’ve been murder on yourself. And you avoid me unless you have to guard me or something. I would have never let you pledge to be my retainer if it meant you were going to do this to yourself.” 

 

Her words stung, but Kaze didn’t flinch. He held her fast to him, as if it was the only thing he could do. As if it were the only thing keeping them anchored in this storm it seemed both of them were going through.

 

“Please,” she pleaded. “I can’t bear to lose you.” 

 

Kaze reached around her, pulling her closer in both of his arms and sat her in between his legs so she could rest against him more comfortably with absolutely no resistance on her end. He pulled away the black headband from her head. Resting his head back atop hers, a few of his fingers combed through her short light hair, massaging her scalp.

 

“I am sorry for making you worry, Lady Corrin. It was never my intention. None of this is your fault. I was performing my duty to you, as I have sworn to.” A well rehearsed line echoed in his mind. It’s what he should say. He felt her chest against him heave a sob, and all he could think of was the woman he loved suffering on his account. 

 

Damn the shoulds. Damn his duty. Damn whatever was standing between them. 

 

“Firstly, you should know none of my behavior is your fault, Corrin,” Kaze finally said, his voice low and a little hoarse. “I know the incident at the gorge a few days ago has been unnerving for both of us…” 

 

Corrin wiped her eyes. Her gentle gaze remained on him intently, waiting for him to finish his piece. 

 

“I have spent the past few days trying to process the feelings that came with it,” Kaze continued. “I know what I feel, but it isn’t proper of a retainer. As a result, I’ve tried to keep preoccupied with work, to remind myself of the duty I have sworn to do and put you in an uncomfortable position.” 

 

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. The hand that had been so delicately toying with her hair found the pressure points at the base of her skull, massaging them firmly as he had done plenty of times before. “I have been a fool to think it was just me who suffered in all of this. And because for doing what I thought was right at first in keeping to simply my duty, we both ended up here, quite miserable. 

 

“I am beyond sorry for putting you through this, Corrin. I love you.” And damn it, he would say it first. 

 

Corrin perked up her head, looking at him with her crimson eyes that rendered him weak in the knees every time. A hopeful smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “You do? Really?”

 

“Of course I do—” Before he could form his sentence, Corrin pressed her lips firmly to his, cupping his face in her hands as if to somehow ensure he wasn’t going to disappear. Though in the back of her mind, Corrin knew he would now have no intentions of doing so. Not now. She pulled away just a little, leaving hardly a gap between them. Kaze had to pause, allowing himself to take this all in. Sparing a glance over at Corrin, she looked like she needed it as well. Both found themselves laughing at the predicament.

 

Corrin guided them back to rest against her headboard, leaning her head against his chest, enveloped under his arm.

 

“I’m sorry you were so broken up by this,” Corrin said gently, brushing a lock of his hair away so she could look into his face obstruction-free. “I know there’s a lot of pressure on you as a retainer, same with the others. I have no doubt going forward might be challenging, and we might face some backlash, but I want you to stay with me. Please. Not just as my retainer.”

 

“...You would be okay with that?” Kaze found himself asking, still in disbelief. This couldn’t be real. Corrin nodded with a small, yet genuine smile. “I’ve pioneered plenty of trails already, I think we can handle this one together. I’ll talk to Ryoma tomorrow. I’ll have everything straightened out by mid-morning tea.” 

 

“Well,” Kaze said, returning her smile. “In that case, I suppose another proposal is in order.” His thumb gently traced over the sensitive skin of her lips. “Will you marry me, Corrin?” 

 

Corrin felt more tears spring to life at the corner of her eyes. Nodding her head was all she felt like she could do before she squeaked out “Yes!” 

 

Moving his thumb towards her eyes to wipe away the tears, he planted yet another kiss to her lips. “I will always stand by your side, my love. Of that, you have my word.” 

 

“And of that, I have no doubt,” she replied, both sparing another kiss or two before simply just resting in amicable silence. Kaze felt his exhaustion kick in, the release of mental and physical tension made him ease even further into Corrin’s bed, daring to close his eyes. He had slid further down the mound of pillows, lying down fully.

 

Corrin wove her fingers through his hair, cradling his head against her chest. She prayed silently he’d stay with her tonight instead of retiring to the barracks. She would love nothing more than to sleep next to him, running fingers through his hair while cuddled up as close as she could be. His calming presence was enough to almost lull her to sleep as well.

 

After a little while, Kaze glanced at her, a tired, but genuine closed smile tugged at his lips. “I’ve been informed by Jakob that I have gained his approval,” he said. “Though I do wonder how long that will last once he sees I have stayed in my lady’s quarters all night.”

 

Corrin chuckled, “This whole siding-with-Hoshido thing has been hard for him—and Felicia too. And as you’ve already seen, he can be incredibly jealous of anyone who also tries to serve me. I’m incredibly blessed with my retainers.” A smirk appeared on her face. “Some even like to tell me they love me.” 

 

“Would you have me dispose of them, milady? Maybe chase them off with a stick?” 

 

“I know you’re teasing me, but you don’t know how much gold I would pay to watch that,” Corrin said, a hand going in front of her face in a futile attempt to cover a shameless grin. Kaze took the hand and kissed her knuckles, pulling it away so he could kiss her properly once more. It was never enough, it seemed. Her lips could be lined with poison and he’d still find himself kissing her. 

 

“Corrin,” he said quietly. 

 

She met his gaze. “Yes, dear?” Dear. Gods above, what had he gotten himself into?

 

“If you should so desire, I think I can handle being off duty from time to time.”  

 

Corrin huffed a laugh, shaking her head. “If I had known this would have come from giving you a day off, I would have done it a hundred times by now.” 

 

And she’d do it a hundred times more.

**Author's Note:**

> Endless fluff for these two. I love them. 
> 
> Kinda changed things around from the original game battles, I don't remember if the battle in Cheve was close to where Kaze and Corrin nearly die with the rockslide incident, but for the sake of the story, I merged them closer.
> 
> Also I've always been curious as to where the rest of the soldiers stay when not on duty? Corrin has his/her treehouse, but what about everyone else? So, I gave them a barracks.


End file.
